FMC Events

KENNEALLY: In the music industry, the calls for transparency come from many angles. Musicians want transparency in accounting and royalty distribution. Indie labels want more information about negotiations with streaming services and others. Songwriters, too, worry about the lack of transparency in direct deals made between publishers and platforms.

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For the Future of Music Policy Summit, David moderated the panel Whose Transparency Is It, Anyway? And he joins me now on Beyond the Book. Welcome to the program, David Herlihy.

It looks as though the FCC is favoring a hybrid approach to net neutrality.

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Four days ago, FCC commissioner Mignon Clyburn delivered remarks to the Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit, held at Georgetown University in D.C. Clyburn said that the FCC looks to be “a ‘facilitator of opportunities,’ and a ‘connector of the disconnected,’” continuing to say they want to be “a strong advocate for free enterprise and robust competition. I support allowing markets the chance to solve problems, while remaining focused on the consumer.” Clyburn’s remarks seemed to indicate the FCC’s move towards a hybrid solution to the debate, repeatedly stressing the importance of an agnostic approach to consumer data, while “promoting competition” between companies. read more

It’s a strong statement to call your coalition The Future of Music, but the topics discussed at their yearly policy summit impact how musicians, music fans, and music industry types can work together to make the future of, well, music a little more promising. Of course, there are significant systematic issues that keep everyone in the industry from proper compensation. Figure that out, and you save the future of music.

Here’s my Twitter timeline from Day 2 of The Future of Music Policy Summit. (Click here for collected tweets from Day 1.) After attending this event, I think I’m a little more informed on what musicians need to know about music business, law, and policy — or at least, I now know what I don’t know, and have a better idea of how to learn more. That’s a very valuable thing!

For better or worse, new content platforms have permanently transformed the music industry, but they’re not always a boon for fledgling bands. CD Baby CEO Tracy Maddux was in town for this year’s Future of Music Policy Summit. Technical.ly DC took the occasion to ask him about being an indie artist in the age of YouTube.

“As a federal regulator, I see myself as a champion of the voiceless.” So said FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, speaking to and about musicians at a policy gathering this week held by the Future of Music Coalition in Washington.

Federal Communications Commission member Mignon Clyburn spoke at the Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit at Georgetown University on October 27, 2014, and said there are three broad policy goals that will have far-reaching implications for the music business: retaining a free and open Internet, expanding broadband networks’ reach and speed, and promoting competition. She said as the FCC moves forward on open Internet, her focus will be primarily on the impact to consumers, and the critical objective is first determining the right policy and then the appropriate legal framework.